Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: RICK SHAW on 15 December 2011, 17:08:26
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MY OMEGA 2 LITRE ECOTEC ENGINE.
I WAS COMING OFF THE SLIP ROAD, AROUND A ROUNDABOUT, ACCELERATED AND CLOUDS OF WHITE SMOKE BILLOWED FROM THE EXHAUST-I MEAN A PROPER SMOKE SCREEN.
THE SMOKE WASN'T SO BAD AS I COASTED IT HOME AND DIDN'T REV IT TOO MUCH.
THE WATER TEMP GAUGE ROSE DURING THIS EPISODE AND THEN SETTLED BACK.
GOT IT BACK HOME AND IT'S ALL FINE. REVVED THE DAYLIGHTS OUT OF IT AND...NOTHING. NOT A PUFF. IT'S ALL PERFECT AGAIN.
THE WATER PUMP IS CLICKING AND I PLAN TO CHANGE IT NEXT WEEK, ALTHOUGH I CAN'T SEE HOW THAT'LL AFFECT ANYTHING.
I CAN'T HAVE THIS HAPPENING ON A MOTORWAY OR IT'LL CAUSE A PILE UP.
ANY INFO ON THE CAUSE AND REMEDY GRATEFULLY RECEIVED.
I'VE ONLY HAD IT A FEW WEEKS AND DON'T WANNA BE COASTING IT TO THE SCRAPPIE.
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Turn your caps lock off,its considered as shouting on tinternet. ;)
Which engine is in your car ? what year is the car ? how many miles ?
Have you checked the coolant and oil ?
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Hi there, I've turned the cap lock off-you're right it is a bit loud.
The car is an Omega 2 litre of 1998 and the mileage is 103k full history and lots of it.
I had to top up the oil and water when I got it a few weeks ago, but on checking when I got home the water reservoir was full and normal.
Do you mean check the oil and water to see if they've mixed - for a head job?
Thanks, rick
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Yep. ;)
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Check for no water in the oil & vice versa :y
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Initial reaction is that it sounds like head gasket. I believe 2.0 engines are prone to it.
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I'll check in the morning-I've done quite a few head gasket changes before on the Ecotecs. Just never seen it manifest itself this way before-buckets of smoke and then
it seems fine.
I'd just done 20 or so miles at about 80ish, turned off the sliproad and pop-1 mile later it's ok. Just thought it may be something electrcal, but it seems it cant be anything but a blown gasket.
Thanks all
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I'll check in the morning-I've done quite a few head gasket changes before on the Ecotecs. Just never seen it manifest itself this way before-buckets of smoke and then
it seems fine.
I'd just done 20 or so miles at about 80ish, turned off the sliproad and pop-1 mile later it's ok. Just thought it may be something electrcal, but it seems it cant be anything but a blown gasket.
Thanks all
......or steam?
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Either way it's a poser. Safe to say the head gasket needs changing whatever the steam/smoke clouds source.
It's the old game when you do the gasket and then discover it's something else.
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Might have just been a big 'gulp' of mayo sucked through out of the breather system.
Keep an eye on the expansion tank over the next few journeys. No loss of coolant - not HG-related, IMHO.
Best way I've found of checking for coolant loss into cylinders is to take out the plugs and look, with the help of a bright little torch (a few hours after the engine has last run). Bone Dry piston crowns, good. One or more looking damp/wet, bad.
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That's an excellent option-I squeezed all the breather pipes a few days ago
to see if they needed cleaning out. Maybe I dislodged a gob of it and the belt down the motorway did the rest.
I'll keep an eye on the water and oil-and out the back window. Thanks.UWTPAC
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??? hello sir, mine omega 2.2l z22xe started misfiring then I saw white smoke from the exhaust: when I checked the cap and there was milky stuff. It was the head gasket: try to check oil, if its milky then its head gasket. don't force to drive it. wish u all the best, merry chrismas
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Initial reaction is that it sounds like head gasket. I believe 2.0 engines are prone to it.
thats what i thought (i'm learning quickly :y)
am i right that OP should check for mayo on his dipstick ::) and possible water leak?
cheers.
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??? hello sir, mine omega 2.2l z22xe started misfiring then I saw white smoke from the exhaust: when I checked the cap and there was milky stuff. It was the head gasket: try to check oil, if its milky then its head gasket. don't force to drive it. wish u all the best, merry chrismas
that i believe is just condensation. it's the dip stick that needs to be chjecked. i believe :)
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The condensation thing is certainly true of V6,s. Not sure about 4 pots tbh. Milky oil on dipstick would be more of a pointer though. Your learning Webby. :y
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The condensation thing is certainly true of V6,s. Not sure about 4 pots tbh. Milky oil on dipstick would be more of a pointer though. Your learning Webby. :y
:y :y :y :y :y :y
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I'm driving it gingerly and so far nothing is amiss. The water reservoir is very clear and there's no baby poo showing on the dipstick.
I'll keep monitoring everything and keep everyone informed
As I mentioned before it was owned by an old geezer who nipped to the shops at 30 mph max-2k per year. Might just have needed a good old fashioned blow through-hopefully.
Thanx all.
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Hi All,
Well I've driven it around and the water is still clear-as is the oil.
I replaced the dickey waterpump, and upon taking off the rocker cover found it to be completely clogged with old dried oil, with the 3 ports from the breather tubes absolutely blocked and hard, and the device at the back designed to calm down the breather pipe to the sump rock solid.
I cleaned it as best as possile and the engine now seems a bit better-breathing a bit.
Looks like the top end was clogged and didn't let the engine breath.
My plan is to take off the rocker box today and soak it in a solution-unknown as yet -
to get all the dried oil out. The large breather pipe at the front is still clogged within the rocker box.
I suppose, with all the pressure on the two systems, oil particularly and the water of course, that it gave the impression of a head gasket fault.
Thanks again all and I'll keep all informed.
Any suggestions for a mixture to de clog the oil gratefully received.
I'm looking at thinners or something now and a metal bendable coat hanger or welding rod to get amongst it.
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If you struggle to remove the crud, it might be worth considering a 'new-to-you' camcover from a reliable source.
I don't know what a 'new new' one might cost, but I'd guess that one of the breakers on here, or Steve(?) at omegaspareparts.com would flog you one for an affordable price, and might even be happy to check that each breather port can be blown into freely, and that the thing sits flat on a flat surface.
There's gonna be some on Ebay, but the sellers may or may not be prepared to do the above checks prior to you buying/bidding.
The flame trap thing ("device at the back") between the block breather pipe and camcover are only about £15 new IIRC, so probably worth replacing.
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I've had it in the sink with a tin of gunk and a stiff piece of wire-eventually I got iy unclogged but it's not perfect-I have,as you suggested,sourced a good used one.
I'll stick it back on in the morning and have a 200 mile run planned,
which should sort it one way or the other.
It's still stalling sometimes as I coast up to a stop, but I'm hoping the clean out will solve this. If not I'll check the vacuum tubes are ok and maybe fasten the tickover up a bit.
If it doesn't let me down then I'll do a proper job on the engine, as the rest of the car
is surprisingly well cared for.
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Well I've driven it reasonably hard for 250 miles and it's all behaved perfectly-no water or oil loss at all.
Still getting a stall on the first stop at the lights or whatever, and then it's fine all day.
Minor problem compared to all the other drama.
With the rocker cover completely blocked beforehand, the oil/breather pressure
may have affected the idle control or something. I'll blow out the vacuum tubes as well.
The main lesson was that all the signs of a head gasket problem were there - and it was the breather pipes blocked. Check before you whip the head off.
Thanx all
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The main lesson was that all the signs of a head gasket problem were there - and it was the breather pipes blocked. Check before you whip the head off.
Good advice :y Hopefully it will keep a few more migs on the road ...quite a few being crushed at my local scrapyard all with decent body panels too >:(
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On the 2.0s, cutting out when coming to a stop, or at idle, is usually fixed by following Grumpy's "IACV and breather jet cleaning" guide carefully:
http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/index.php?topic=90586.0
:)
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Hi all, an update- followed Grumpy's instructions and everything is now sorted, and it runs very nicely now.
The idle jet was blocked solid and I used Gunk and Thinners
to soak and clear it out.
Thanks to all who guided me-and saved me a few bob and a car-through the problems.
Rick